Approved by: Graduate Council
Implementation Date: Spring 2017
Note: Deletions are strikethroughs. Insertions are underlined.
Catalog Copy
Public Policy
- Ph.D. in Public Policy
Public Policy Program
publicpolicy.uncc.edu
Graduate Program Director
Dr. Martha E. Kropf (Interim)
Graduate Faculty
Criminal Justice
Dr. Bruce Arrigo, Professor
Dr. Beth Bjerregaard, Professor
Dr. Lyn Exum, Associate Professor
Dr. Paul Friday, Professor
Dr. Shelley Listwan, Associate Professor
Dr. John Stogner, Assistant Professor
Dr. Vivian Lord, Professor
Criminal Justice (Affiliate Faculty)
Dr. Anita Blowers, Associate Professor
Dr. Michael Turner, Professor
Dr. Jennifer Hartman, Associate Professor
Dr. Joseph Kuhns, Associate Professor
Economics
Dr. Steve Billings, Associate Professor
Dr. Peter Schwarz, Professor
Dr. Jennifer Troyer, Professor
Dr. Arthur Zillante, Associate Professor
Economics (Affiliate Faculty)
Dr. Paul Gaggl, Assistant Professor
Dr. Lisa Schulkind, Assistant Professor
Dr. Carol O. Stivender, Clinical Professor
Dr. Jennifer Troyer, Professor
Dr. Arthur Zillante, Associate Professor
Geography and Earth Sciences
Dr. Harrison Campbell, Associate Professor
Dr. William Graves, Associate Professor
Dr. Isabelle Nilsson, Assistant Professor
Dr. Jean-Claude Thill, Distinguished Professor
Dr. Qingfang Wang, Associate Professor
Geography and Earth Sciences (Affiliate Faculty)
Dr. Robert Boyer, Assistant Professor
Dr. Edd Hauser, Professor
Dr. Heather Smith, Professor
Public Health Sciences
Dr. James Laditka, Professor
Dr. Sarah Laditka, Associate Professor
Mr. Winsor Schmidt, J.D., LL.M., Distinguished Professor
Public Health Sciences (Affiliate Faculty)
Dr. Yvette Huet, Professor
Dr. Michele Issel, Professor
Dr. James Laditka, Professor
Philosophy
Dr. Gordon Hull, Associate Professor
Political Science and Public Administration
Dr. William Brandon, Emeritus Distinguished Professor
Dr. Jacquelineyn Chattopadhyay, Assistant Professor
Dr. Joanne Carman, Associate Professor
Dr. Eric Heberlig, Professor
Dr. Martha Kropf, Professor
Dr. Suzanne Leland, Professor
Dr. Cherie Maestas, Distinguished Professor
Dr. Jaclyn Piatak, Assistant Professor
Dr. John Szmer, Associate Professor
Dr. James Walsh, Associate Professor
Political Science and Public Administration (Affiliate Faculty)
Dr. Justin Conrad, Associateistant Professor
Dr. Zachary Mohr, Assistant Professor
Dr. Beth Whitaker, Associate Professor
Dr. James Walsh, Professor
Sociology
Dr. Yang Cao, Associate Associate Professor
Dr. Scott Fitzgerald, Associate Professor
Dr. Rosemary Hopcroft, Professor
Dr. Roslyn Mickelson, Professor
Dr. Stephanie Moller, Professor
Dr. Beth A. Rubin, Professor
Dr. Teresa Scheid, Professor
Dr. Elizabeth Stearns, Associate Professor
Dr. Joseph Whitmeyer, Professor
Sociology (Affiliate Faculty)
Dr. Charles Brody, Professor
Dr. Scott Fitzgerald, Associate Professor
Dr. Rosemary Hopcroft, Professor
Dr. Joseph Whitmeyer, Professor
Dr. Wei Zhao, Associate Professor
Other Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Jurgen Buchenau, Professor, History
Dr. Lisa Driscoll, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership
Dr. Alan Mabe, Visiting Professor, Educational Leadership
Dr. Annelise Mennicke, Assistant Professor, Social Work
Dr. Gregory Mixon, Professor, History
Dr. Aaron Shapiro, Associate Professor, History
Dr. Gregory Starrett, Professor, Anthropology
Dr. Lori Thomas, Assistant Professor, Social Work
Dr. Peter Thorsheim, Professor, History
Dr. Mark Wilson, Professor, History
Dr. Jay Wu, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ph.D. In Public Policy
The Ph.D. in Public Policy at UNC Charlotte is an interdisciplinary program focusing on the study of policy development, implementation, and evaluation. It stresses the development of skills, tools, and specialties, as well as a theoretical understanding of them, that contribute to our understanding of the structure of institutional systems and sub-systems and of how policy should be shaped within political environments.
The Ph.D. in Public Policy prepares students to be researchers, decision makers and policy analysts in local, state or federal governments, not-for-profit agencies, for-profit institutions, and academia. The Program stresses applied and empirical policy research grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation. Students will become versed in analytical techniques suitable for research and policy analysis to address substantive issues and problems in varied geographic and political contexts. The intellectual focus of the Program is guided by three overarching themes:
- Interdisciplinary Perspective: Effective policy analysis and policy formation are not informed by any single discipline. Rather, public policy requires knowledge of the historical, cultural, political, institutional, geographic, and economic dimensions of policy problems facing any community.
- Applied and Empirical Policy Analysis: Public policy is an inherently applied endeavor that seeks practical solutions and cogent analysis. While theory informs all research and analysis, the purpose of policy research is to elevate public discourse and improve public decision-making.
- Place-Based Research: To exercise applied policy analysis in an interdisciplinary context, policy research must be place-based. Real policy analysis, based on real data, applied to actual geographic and political settings is a strength of the Program.
Admission Requirements
The following are general guidelines for successful admissions into the Ph.D. in Public Policy Program:
- A master's degree in a social science or other field related to policy studies is required for admission to full standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy.
- Exceptional performance at the master’s level is required. This means a GPA of at least 3.3 in a master’s degree program is required for admission. Students with baccalaureate degrees may be admitted on a conditional basis if they have an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.5 and are currently enrolled in a master’s level program at UNC Charlotte in a field related to policy studies. However, such students will not formally be admitted to the Ph.D. program until completion of the requirements for the master's degree.
- Admission to the program requires strong scores (at least at the fiftieth percentile) on the verbal, quantitative, and analytic sections of the Graduate Record Examination. The Graduate Record Examination is a required part of the application package.
- Three strong, positive letters of recommendation, at least two of which must come from faculty in the student’s previous academic programs. All letters should be written by individuals in a position to judge the applicant’s likely success in a Ph.D. level program. Letters should address the applicant's suitability for a Ph.D. program and ability to complete the program in a timely fashion. Letters from the student’s master’s level program are preferred.
- Admission to the program of students who are not native English speakers requires strong scores on the TOEFL exam. The TOEFL exam is a required part of the application package for non-native English speakers.
- Students entering the program are expected to remedy any coursework deficiencies identified by the Admissions Committee and Program Director in the first semester after enrolling in the Program. The amount and kinds of remedial coursework required for the program depends on the background of the student and are established by the Admissions Committee and the Program Director. Possible deficiencies are indicated in the prerequisites for the required core courses of the program. This program emphasizes the quantitative and analytical skills necessary to confront the challenges of contemporary policy dilemmas that communities face at the local, state, federal, and international levels.
Documents to be submitted for application for admission:
- Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
- Official GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing)
- The UNC Charlotte application for graduate admission form
- Three letters of reference from academics who have taught or worked directly with the applicant
- An essay that addresses professional goals and motivation for pursuing the degree, suitability for the program, career goals following the degree, and the policy specialty the applicant would pursue within the Program
- TOEFL scores (if the student is not a native English speaker)
Admission Assessment
- An Admissions Committee reviews applications and recommends to the Program Director whether each applicant should be admitted and, if so, under what conditions.
- The Program’s Admissions Committee assesses each student's previous academic coursework in light of the student’s stated direction of study. This assessment is used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the student’s previous academic history and to suggest specific coursework for the student’s public policy program. Any remedial coursework required for the program depends on the student’s background and will be established by the Admissions Committee and the Program Director. The Admissions Committee may also suggest specific coursework based on the student’s intended direction of study within the program. The Admissions Committee conducts this assessment upon the student’s acceptance and formal declaration of intent to attend. For each entering student, the Director of the Public Policy Program serves as his or her major advisor for the first year in the Program before the student chooses his or her committee chair.
Student Responsibility
Students entering the program must present evidence that their background is sufficient to undertake the coursework required of them. Such evidence ideally should include some combination of:
- Familiarity with political and legal processes, behaviors, and institutions
- A graduate level social science methods or statistics course
- College coursework in both macro- and micro- economics
- Substantial background in a public policy specialty area
Students may have completed appropriate courses to provide this background elsewhere. Normally, transcripts provide the evidence required by the Admissions Committee; however, if the student’s previous experience is offered as evidence, the student must document such experience. A more detailed list of the types of prerequisite coursework can be found online at publicpolicy.uncc.edu.
Admission to Candidacy Requirements
After completing the core courses, students are required to write a qualifying examination covering the nature of the field, methodology, and economic analysis skills. After completing the qualifying examination, students take their policy field courses. Successful completion of core courses and the qualifying examinations allows students to proceed to the dissertation proposal preparation and defense stage. The dissertation proposal defense includes an oral presentation and written proposal. Prior to the proposal defense, with the guidance of their advisor, students develop a topic paper that outlines the policy area on which their dissertation will focus. After a topic approval meeting, students develop that topic paper into a full proposal. During the oral component of the proposal defense, the student addresses not only the specific research topic about which they will write but situates that topic in the larger body of relevant policy literatures; the defense serves as the comprehensive examination. Procedures for establishing the dissertation committee are addressed in the Student Handbook and in the Public Policy Seminar course.
Assistantships
The Ph.D. in Public Policy is committed to academic year funding for all full-time students. Additional support for summer sessions may be available through program funds and research grants working with program faculty. Available options for funding include graduate assistantships, teaching assistantships for those interested in careers in academia, and scholarships. For more information on funding options, contact the Director of the Public Policy Program.
Tuition Waivers
For full-time students with a Graduate Assistantship or Teaching Assistantship, full or partial tuition support is also available from the Graduate School’s competitive Graduate Assistant Support Plan (GASP). GASP is a highly competitive multi-year support package. Students enrolled are eligible to receive full payment of in-state tuition, non-resident tuition (if required), and health insurance.
Degree Requirements
The total number of hours is established by the student’s advisor according to a plan of study that must be presented after the successful completion of 18 credit hours of coursework. The Ph.D. Program requires 26 credit hours of core course credit, at least 6 credit hours of advanced analysis coursework, 18 credit hours of dissertation credit (enrollment contingent on admission to candidacy), and a minimum of 15 credit hours for specialty elective courses. It is unlikely that students will be able to complete this degree, including mastery of a subject-matter specialty, in 65 credit hours; 70-75 credit hours is more likely. Students can complete the program with 65 hours, but will likely take more. Students progress through the program in five stages:
- Core Courses
- Qualifying Examinations
- Advanced Analysis Coursework and Specialty Policy Field Courses
- Dissertation Proposal Defense
- Dissertation
Core Courses
The Ph.D. program requires 26 credit hours of core courses.
Introduction
PPOL 8050GRAD 8100 Accelerated Introduction to Public Policy Quantitative Techniques (2)
The Nature of the Field
PPOL 8600 Policy Process I (3)
PPOL 8602 Research Design (3)
PPOL 8635 Ethics of Public Policy (3)
PPOL 8690 Seminar in Public Policy (1)*
Methods of Analysis
PPOL 8620 Quantitative Analysis IGRAD 8101 Linear Regression (3)
PPOL 8630 Advanced Program Evaluation (3)
Economic Analysis
PPOL 8640 Economic Analysis I (3)
PPOL 8641 Economic Analysis II (3)
*PPOL 8690 is a one credit hour course. Students must enroll in it three separate times.
Advanced Analysis Coursework
Prior to defending a dissertation proposal, students must complete at least six (6) credit hours of advanced analysis coursework at the doctoral level. These credits may be taken outside the PPOL program with the approval of the Program Director. Students are encouraged to choose courses that cover the types of analysis that are prevalent in the student’s policy area of interest. . Students may select from the following list or take classes in other departments with permission of the Program Director:
BPHD 8120 Econometrics I
BPHD 8130 Econometrics II
GRAD 8102 Categorical Outcomes
GRAD 6103 Classificatory Methods and Time Series
GRAD 8104 Spatial Statistics
GRAD 8009 Topics (Designation used for special topics in advanced analysis)
PPOL 8622 Qualitative Methods in Public Policy
PPOL 8625 Advanced Seminar in Spatial Decisions Support Systems
Policy Application
After students have completed the 26 core course hours and the 6 advanced analysis course hours, they are prepared to select a substantive application for their dissertation research. Students, in consultation with their advisor, take a minimum of 5 courses (15 credit hours) in a substantive area on which their dissertation will focus. While the core courses prepare students to develop, implement, and evaluate policy, the dissertation research provides the opportunity to put those tools into a substantive context. Public Policy at UNC Charlotte is in Charlotte's Urban Research University and the program is particularly strong in studying the various aspects of urban policy, including issues of economics, social inequality, education, health, development, criminal justice, and other aspects of urban life locally and globally. Thus, students should, in consultation with their advisor, develop a set of research questions and substantive interest on which their dissertation will focus. Students are encouraged to work with their advisor and the Program Director to design a program of study tailored to their policy interests by combining courses in several of these policy areas. While the particular courses required in each policy area may vary according to prerequisites needed by the student or individual programs of study, the minimum number of required courses in any given policy area is five (5) for 15 credit hours.
Examples of such areas and typical course sequences include:
Economic Policy
The Policy Field in Economic Policy focuses on the study of policy issues related to market, government, firm, and individual behavior. This specialty allows students to build knowledge regarding economic theory and tools used by economists to consider policy issues. In addition, the specialty offers several courses in which theoretical and statistical tools are applied to specific policy areas, including public economics, urban and regional economics, and health economics.
The following advanced quantitative methods courses are strongly recommended, and students are encouraged to work with their advisor to identify other relevant advanced methods courses:
BPHD 8120 Econometrics I
BPHD 8130 Econometrics II
Students are encouraged to choose courses of interest from the following offerings:
PPOL 8642 Regional Economic Development
PPOL 8667 Economics of Health and Health Care
PPOL 8705 Advanced Urban and Regional Economics
PPOL 8707 Game Theory and Experiments
PPOL 8709 Public Economics
PPOL 8711 Monetary and Financial Theory
In addition, the following economic theory courses are recommended for students without Master’s level training in Economics:
PPOL 8701 Advanced Macroeconomic Theory
PPOL 8703 Advanced Microeconomic Theory
Other courses appropriate for each specialty may be available, and students may take these or substitute them for one of the listed classes in consultation with their advisor and the Program Director.
Students are encouraged to develop a focus in other related fields or design their specialty based on faculty resources available. As with all programs, such a program would need the approval of the student’s advisor and the Program Director. Program faculty continue to develop additional substantive and methods courses.
Environmental/Infrastructure Policy
The Policy Field in Environmental/Infrastructure Policy focuses on environmental issues impacted by energy production and consumption, growth, pollution, and population change. This specialty allows interested students to gain knowledge on the economic factors related to environmental degradation and improvement. It also allows them the opportunity to become familiar with the scientific aspects of urban air, water, and earth systems. Policy making and policy analysis related to these issues will all be covered by courses in this specialty.
Courses for this specialty typically include:
PPOL 8600 Transportation Policy
PPOL 8650 Environmental Policy
PPOL 8652 Energy and Environmental Economics
Two additional courses from these or other choices:
PPOL 8653 Urban Air Quality
PPOL 8655 Watershed Science and Policy
PPOL 8656 Earth Systems Analysis: Biogeochemical Cycles
Health Policy
The Policy Field in Health Policy focuses on applied research in the organization, delivery and financing of healthcare and population-based issues in health (including mental health). A multidisciplinary faculty in epidemiology, health economics and finance, health policy, medical sociology, bioethics, and health law is ideally suited to prepare quantitative health service researchers and health policy analysts. Qualified students without a relevant Master’s degree can prepare for the Ph.D. by completing coursework in the master in health administration (MHA), the MA in medical sociology, or the MS in Health Promotion while enrolled in the Ph.D. with a field specialty in Health Policy.
Courses for this specialty typically include:
PPOL 8636. The Social Context of Mental Health
PPOL 8661 Social Organization of Healthcare
PPOL 8663 Health Policy
PPOL 8665 Analytic Epidemiology
PPOL 8667 Economics of Health and Healthcare
PPOL 8669 Investigating Health and Health Services
Justice Policy
The Justice Policy Field provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of crime and society's response to it. This specialty prepares students to conduct research and policy analysis on local, state, and national policies and policy initiatives and provide information for policy makers. The primary goal of this specialization is to provide students with the tools necessary for critically and objectively assessing policies related to the administration of justice. Toward that end, students gain the appropriate analytical skills, an understanding of the nature of criminal behavior and its impact, and knowledge about the criminal justice system as well as about a variety of issues related to the control of crime. They also become familiar with the process of making and implementing justice policy and with those organizations involved in this process.
Courses for this specialty typically include:
PPOL 8000 Criminal Justice Management
PPOL 8617. Law and Management
PPOL 8671 Criminal Justice Policy
PPOL 8672 Theories of Crime and Justice
PPOL 8673 Law and Social Control
Plus, one other course from the other Policy Fields.
Social Policy
The Policy Field in Social Policy prepares scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to address crucial social issues facing communities and our nation including social welfare, education, poverty, housing and homelessness and the role of public, nonprofit, and private sectors in alleviating and contributing to such problems. In addition to dealing with these topics in their own right, the social policy field focuses on the complex interrelationships among these issues and the manner in which they are influenced by--and in turn influence--prevailing patterns of racial, ethnic, and gender stratification. The social policy specialization provides the theoretical background, methodological training, and substantive knowledge that will allow students to make important contributions to the development, implementation, and evaluation of public policies addressing the most vexing and important social issues of our time.
Courses for this specialty typically include:
PPOL 8681 Race, Gender, Class and Public Policy
PPOL 8682 Stratification and Social Policy
PPOL 8683 Population Dynamics and Social Policy
Two additional courses from these or other choices:
PPOL 8685 Aging and Social Policy
PPOL 8687 Education Policy
PPOL 8688 Political Economy of& School Reform
PPOL 8689 The Social Context of Schooling
Urban Regional Development and Infrastructure
The Urban & Regional Development Policy Field stresses applied and empirical policy research that is grounded in an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation. Students will be prepared in analytical techniques suitable for research and policy analysis through courses addressing several topics at the neighborhood, city and regional levels, including: Economic Development; Transportation Policy; Infrastructure Provision; Public Service Delivery; Growth Management; Regionalism and Governance.
Courses for this specialty typically include:
PPOL 8610 Urban Regional Environment
PPOL 8611 Metropolitan Governance and Administration
PPOL 8612 Theory of Urban Development
PPOL 8613 Transportation Policy
Two additional courses from these or other choices:
PPOL 8612 Theory of Urban Development
PPOL 8614 Colloquium in 20th Century Black Urban History
PPOL 8615 The Restructuring City
PPOL 8616 Urban Planning Theory and Practice
PPOL 8617 Law and Management
PPOL 8618 Growth Management Systems
PPOL 8642 Regional Economic Development
PPOL 8643 Rural Development Issues
PPOL 8644 Public Budgeting and Financing
Advising/Committees
While the Program Director serves as the de facto advisor for each student for the first year, the Program Director works with the students and faculty to help the student work with a suitable advisor. Once the student is matched with the advisor, they work closely with that advisor on suggested schedules of classes, research options, and other issues important to success. After approximately one year in the program, each student is expected to have identified the faculty member with whom they would like to mentor, with the expectation that this mentor would ultimately serve on the student’s committees. Following completion of the policy field courses, students establish their dissertation advisor and form a dissertation committee. The procedures for establishing these committees are in the Student Handbook and are addressed in the Public Policy Seminar.
Grade Requirements
A student must maintain a cumulative average of 3.0 in all coursework taken for graduate credit. An accumulation of three C grades will result in termination of the student’s enrollment in the graduate program. If a student receives a grade of U in any course, enrollment in the program will be terminated.
Transfer Credit
The Program will accept up to two courses in the core curriculum as transfer credit from other regionally accredited doctoral institutions, providing that the Admissions Committee determines that these courses are equivalent to those offered in the core or one of the specialty areas. The acceptance of transfer credit is subject to the approval of the Graduate School. The grade in these transfer credits must have been A or B. All of the dissertation work must be completed at UNC Charlotte.
Language Requirement
There is no foreign language requirement.
Dissertation
The program requires that the student complete 18 hours of dissertation credit. Enrollment in dissertation credit is contingent on admission to candidacy. The dissertation topic may be proposed after the student has passed the qualifying exams. The doctoral student advances to candidacy after the dissertation proposal has been defended to, and approved by, the student's advisory committee and reported to the Director of the Ph.D. in Public Policy and the Dean of the Graduate School. The student must complete and defend the dissertation based on a research program approved by the student's dissertation committee that results in a high quality, original, and substantial piece of research.
Other Requirements
PPOL 8050 Accelerated Introduction to Public Policy Quantitative Techniques
Students come into the program with diverse backgrounds and often have not used or do not remember previous training in quantitative methods. In order to facilitate success in the first year core courses, the Public Policy Program requires all incoming students take this quantitative “boot-camp” that will refresh those skills as well as introduce students to the statistical computing software that they may use during their studies. Students register for this course in the Fall of the first semester but will take the course in the two (or so) weeks prior to the beginning of the semester.
PPOL 8690 Public Policy Seminar Series
Students in the program develop their appreciation of the varied nature of policy applications and improve their communication skills by participating in at least three seminar series throughout the course of their program. This seminar also serves as a clearinghouse, introducing students to the varied faculty in the program. Each term a series of guest speakers prepare monthly seminars reflecting a range of policy issues and challenges. Students engage in activities aimed at professional development for both practitioners and for those interested in pursuing careers in academia.
Research Opportunities
The Ph.D. Program in Public Policy has an extensive pool of professors to enhance the research opportunities and experiences for the students. Each program of study could be individually tailored for the research of the student with the possibility of individual studies under the supervision of an advisor.
Application for Degree
Each student should make application for his/her degree by completing the online Application for Degree through Banner Self Service no later than the filing date specified in the University Academic Calendar. After successful defense of the dissertation, a student will be conferred with the doctoral degree.
Residency Requirement
Students must satisfy the residency requirement for the program by completing 21 hours of continuous enrollment, either as coursework or dissertation credits. Residence is considered continuous if the student is enrolled in one or more courses in successive semesters until 21 hours are earned. All 18 hours of dissertation credit must be earned at UNC Charlotte.
Time Limits for Completion
The student must achieve admission to candidacy within six years after admission to the program. All requirements for the degree must be completed within eight years after first registration as a doctoral student. These time limits are maximums; full-time students will typically complete the degree requirements in five years.
Courses in Public Policy (PPOL)
Notes:
- The core courses listed below are available only to students admitted into the Ph.D. in Public Policy or to students admitted to other Ph.D. programs.
- Permission of instructor is required on all courses in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program.
- There are no specific prerequisites for many of the courses listed below; however, the general levels of preparation are described in greater detail online at publicpolicy.uncc.edu and in the Student Handbook.
- Occasionally, these courses are offered during Summer, as well as during Fall or Spring semesters.
PPOL 8000. Topics in Public Policy. (1-4) Prerequisites: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Study of selected topics in Public Policy. May be repeated for credit.
PPOL 8050. Accelerated Introduction to Public Policy Quantitative Techniques. (2) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program, or permission of instructor. A graduate-level, two-week intensive review of mathematics, and social science quantitative skills and introduction to statistical software course to prepare students for the advanced microeconomic and quantitative sequence with a focus on policy analysis. May not be repeated for credit.
PPOL 8600. Policy Process I. (3) Prerequisites: Prior coursework or experience relevant to political and legal processes, behaviors, and institutions. This is a CORE course in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program. Examination of the field of public policy analysis to include both theory and practice. Process includes everything from sources of public problems to feedback mechanisms after policy implementation. Emphasis on the policy process in growing urban regions and the ability to communicate with stakeholders to determine value conflicts and to communicate policy solutions. Examination of the context (legal, institutional, historical, philosophical, social, political, physical and spatial) within which policy is made with sensitivity to gender, race and ethnicity, and class concerns.
PPOL 8602. Research Design in Public Policy. (3) This is a CORE course in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program. Introduces students to various quantitative and qualitative approaches to doing policy research. Considers such major issues in philosophy of science as causality, measurement, and post-positive approaches to research. Students may use the course to prepare their dissertation proposals or research grant and contract proposals.
PPOL 8610. Urban Regional Environment. (3) Cross-listed as GEOG 6123 and GEOG 8123. Prerequisite: Prior coursework or experience relevant to the nature of urban regions. Examination of the nature of urban regions. The basic factors that shape urban regions as they grow. Impact of: geography; history; social factors; economic factors; concerns about gender, race and ethnicity, and class; and other determinants of the nature of urban regions, their problems, and possible policy solutions.
PPOL 8611. Metropolitan Governance and Administration. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Introduction of major issues in urban politics and related trends and problems in urban governance and administration.
PPOL 8612. Theory of Urban Development. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Analysis of urban economics and politics within the context of public policy and planning. Focuses on theory and application to understand the rationale for and effects of urban policy, urban economic development, and planning. Provides basic understanding of the operation of urban real estate markets and the motivation for public sector interventions. Applies theoretical foundations to the study of current urban problems and controversies. Familiarity with introductory microeconomics is required.
PPOL 8613. Transportation Policy. (3) Cross-listed as GEOG 6600 and 8600. Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examines surface transportation from a broad public policy perspective with a special focus on its institutional components and the changing role of government in transportation policy-making including the evolution of, and relationships among, various federal, state and local policies that affect investment decisions in transportation infrastructure.
PPOL 8614. Colloquium in 20th Century Black Urban History. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examination of major and topical monographic works in African American urban history during the twentieth century. The focus will be on such topics as” classical urban examinations by black scholars, ghettoization and alternative theories, community and its institutions, riot sand urban rebellions, biography, black mayors, and urban policy.
PPOL 8615. The Restructuring City. (3) Cross-listed as GEOG 6210 and 8210. Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. This course places at center stage the causes and consequences of contemporary urban restructuring and evaluates the theoretical, planning, and policy challenges inevitably presented.
PPOL 8616. Urban Planning Theory and Practice. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Alternative planning theories and application of theories in urban planning practices.
PPOL 8617. Law and Management. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Constitutional and administrative law issues, including a survey of academic debates over contested issues, and selected areas in constitutional law on civil liberties and civil rights.
PPOL 8618. Growth Management Systems. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Exploration of growth management programs, legal and planning issues, and legislation to determine their merits, weaknesses and abilities to promote more sustainable development patterns. Will emphasize difficulty of changing traditional procedures of development and land use.
PPOL 8620. Quantitative Methods in Public Policy I. (3) Prerequisite: graduate level social science methods or statistics course. This is a CORE course in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program. Advanced quantitative methods as applied to analysis and solution of public problems. Use of quantitative methods to analyze public problems; devise appropriate, effective, acceptable public policies; evaluate public programs; and present the results of quantitative analysis to appropriate audiences.
PPOL 8621. Quantitative Methods in Public Policy II. (3) Prerequisite: PPOL 8620. Advanced quantitative methods as applied to analysis and solution of public problems. Use of quantitative methods to analyze public problems, devise appropriate, effective, and acceptable public policies; to evaluate public programs; and to present the results of quantitative analysis to appropriate audiences.
PPOL 8622. Qualitative Methods in Public Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Advanced qualitative methods as applied to analysis and solution of public problems. Use of qualitative methods to analyze public problems; to devise appropriate, effective, acceptable public policies; to evaluate public programs; and to present the results of qualitative analysis to appropriate audiences.
PPOL 8625. Advanced Seminar in Spatial Decisions Support Systems. (3) Prerequisite: GEOG 5120 or permission of instructor. Theoretical aspects of spatial DSS including technical, social, political and psychological considerations; system s design; systems manipulation; and case studies. Three hours of lecture and one-two hour lab per week.
PPOL 8630. Advanced Program Evaluation. (3) This is a CORE course in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program. Development and application of policy analysis to the evaluation of existing public policies. Particular attention to the use of multiple techniques of analysis and presentation of program evaluations to relevant audiences.
PPOL 8635. Ethics of Public Policy. (3) This is a CORE course in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program. Ethical questions in the study, formation, implementation, and evaluation of public policies. Ethical dilemmas faced by the public policy analyst, and the importance of use of values analysis. Emphasis on understanding how values are communicated by a variety of stakeholders in policy systems and how communicating public policy solutions involves an understanding of the role of values in successful policy formation and implementation.
PPOL 8636. The Social Context of Mental Health. (3) Cross-listed as SOCY 6635, SOWK 6635, and PSYC 8636. Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program or permission of instructor. Draws upon contributions from the field of psychiatry, psychology, social work, and anthropology. Focuses on mental health and illness it is social context, with an emphasis on the relationship between social structure and mental health/disorder. Examines the social factors which shape psychiatric diagnosis, the effects of socio-demographic variables on mental health, and the role of social support and stress for different groups. Also examines the organization, delivery, and evaluation of mental health services, and mental healthcare policy.
PPOL 8640. Economic Analysis of Public Policy I. (3) This is a CORE course in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program. Economic role of government, efficiency versus equity, externalities, and public goods, market failures and government failures, economics of centralized versus decentralized decision making, public choice theory, economics of privatization, economic role of nonprofits and non-governmental organizations.
PPOL 8641. Economic Analysis of Public Policy II. (3) Prerequisite: PPOL 8640. This is a CORE course in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program. Economics of taxation and government borrowing, benefit-cost analysis, regional growth and development, econometric analysis of local and regional public policy issues.
PPOL 8642. Regional Economic Development. (3) Cross-listed as GEOG 6302 and GEOG 8302. Prerequisites: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program; PPOL 8610; intermediate microeconomics; or permission of instructor. Course covers classical, neo-classical and contemporary theories of trade, economic geography, and regional development. Topics include: theories of urban and regional growth, location theories, human capital, labor force and entrepreneurial contributions to growth. Policy dimensions of urban growth and development are addressed from theoretical and empirical perspectives.
PPOL 8643. Rural Development Issues. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. This course provides research experiences that focus on policy formulation, and demographic, economic and planning issues in rural areas.
PPOL 8644. Public Budgeting and Financing. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Focus is on the public budget process as a means of policy development, analysis and implementation. It will also address in more depth issues of financing the policies authorized in the budget and for which appropriations are sought.
PPOL 8650. Environmental Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. This course draws upon concepts and tools from economics, geography, law, sociology, political science, and planning to explore the concept of sustainable development, a central tenet of environmental policy. Environmental policy will be analyzed within the federalist framework.
PPOL 8652. Energy and Environmental Economics. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Economics issues of both energy and environment. Energy issues include the historical development of energy resources, supply and demand considerations, and projections of the future energy balance. Environmental issues are externalities, common property resources, and government regulation. Policy considerations include environmental standards, pollution charges, and property rights. Cost-benefit analysis and microeconomic theory are applied.
PPOL 8653. Urban Air Quality. (3) Prerequisites: Ph.D. student and permission of instructor. Examination of the relationships between climatic processes and urban air quality with emphasis on trends and patterns. Topics will include health and environmental effects of air pollution, ozone climatology, pollutant transport, transportation related emissions, risk assessment, and air quality management.
PPOL 8655. Watershed Science Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examination of the cycling of water and chemical elements within forested, agricultural and urbanized watersheds. Land use regulations designed to protect water quality are examined with respect to hydrologic and biogeochemical process that operate at the watershed scale.
PPOL 8656. Earth Systems Analysis: Biogeochemical Cycles. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examines the Earth’s water and major elemental cycles including those of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus and the major crustal elements. Uncertainties in the current state of global elemental cycles are examined. Special emphasis is placed on how these cycles are currently being modified through human activities.
PPOL 8661. Social Organization of Healthcare. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Focuses on the structures and operations of healthcare institutions and providers. The topics covered include the socio-historical development of the existing healthcare system, healthcare occupations and professions, professional power and autonomy, professional socialization, inter-professional and provider-client relations, healthcare organizations, and how change affects the delivery of healthcare services.
PPOL 8663. Health Policy. (3) Cross-listed as HSRD 8005. Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program and a graduate level course providing an adequate introduction to the U.S. healthcare system such as HADM 6100 or MPAD 6172, or permission of instructor. Examines the formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation of health policy at national, state, and local levels through extensive readings in relevant health and policy literatures.
PPOL 8665. Analytic Epidemiology. (3) Cross-listed as HCIP 6260, HLTH 6260, HLTH 8260, and HSRD 8003. Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program and a graduate level courses such as HADM 6104 or permission of instructor. Principles and methods of studying advanced epidemiology, with emphasis on the analytic approach, including advanced techniques in the establishment of disease causation in groups and communities. Topics include: risk assessment, environmental exposures, stratification and adjustment, and multivariate analysis in epidemiology. Emphasis is also placed on quality assurance and control and communicating results of epidemiological studies in professional publications and settings.
PPOL 8667. Economic of Health and Healthcare. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6260 and HSRD 8004. Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program, PPOL 8640 and PPOL 8641 or permission of instructor. Uses economic theory and econometrics to analyze the functioning of the healthcare sector and appropriate public policy. Topics include: how markets for medical care differs from other markets, the demand for medical care, the demand and supply of health insurance, the role of competition in medical markets, managed care, managed competition, and the role of the public sector in regulating and financing healthcare.
PPOL 8669. Investigating Health and Health Services. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program and PPOL 8620 and PPOL 8621 or permission of instructor. The emphasis of this course is how to conduct and evaluate research necessary to health policy. Students are expected to conduct research utilizing a variety of methodologies and will also learn how to access available secondary data sets relevant to healthcare and policy. Topics include: multidisciplinary collaboration, measurement of health related constructs and healthcare outcomes, and health evaluation (cost, quality, access). Students will be expected to develop their dissertation proposals as one outcomes of this course. Designed to be a seminar, and active participation in class discussion and activities is essential.
PPOL 8671. Criminal Justice Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examination of the criminal justice subsystems (law enforcement, courts, corrections) with particular focus on the development of policy and the effectiveness of current policies aimed at reducing crime.
PPOL 8672. Theories of Crime and Justice. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Exposes students to mainstream and critical theoretical approaches to crime, justice, and criminal behavior. An emphasis on both broad conceptual orientations allows us to assess the development of criminology within an array of historical and philosophical contexts during the past three centuries.
PPOL 8673. Law and Social Control. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examines how the criminal law functions as a powerful tool of social control in our society. Particular emphasis is given to understanding the constitutional limitations placed on construction of law, the elements of criminal offenses, and criminal defenses.
PPOL 8681. Race, Gender, Class, and Public Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. An overview of major theories, trends, and debates on the topic of gender, race and economic inequality in the contemporary United States.
PPOL 8682. Stratification and Social Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examines: (a) structures and processes underlying social stratification in the United States, particularly the inequality that is grounded in social class, gender, ethnicity, and race; and (b) the social policy implications that follow from our analysis of the nature and sources of stratification.
PPOL 8683. Population Dynamics and Social Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Basic population characteristics, such as age distribution, life expectancy, fertility, and trends in these characteristics are relevant to nearly all social policy. An introduction to basic concepts and tools of demographic analysis and how they may be applied to the study of social policy including family policy, aging policy, and minority groups’ policy.
PPOL 8685. Aging and Social Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Utilizes the concepts of social gerontology as a Springboard for examining social policy for an aging population. Examination of the public policy making process with attention to aging policy. Consideration of determinants of aging policy and institution and actors in the policy making process and piecemeal development of legislation analyzed as factors related to the making of policy for the aged.
PPOL 8687. Education Policy. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examines equity, efficiency, and diversity tradeoffs among alternatives systems of delivering K-12 education. The course also examines how to evaluate educational policies and programs.
PPOL 8688. Political Economy of School Reform. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examines between business leaders’ vision for school reform and the school restructuring movement, the reforms which arise from their construction of the problem, local educational restructuring efforts within the context of the larger national reform movement, and the opportunities and dangers of corporate-inspired educational policies.
PPOL 8689. The Social Context of Schooling. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. Examines the relationships among certain aspects of the contemporary social structure and educational processes and outcomes. It explores the ways that the social class structure, race, and gender stratification affect the ways individuals experience, understand, and acquire education.
PPOL 8690. Seminar in Public Policy. (1) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program or permission of instructor. This is a CORE course in the Ph.D. in Public Policy program. Series of guest speakers and exercises on a range of policy issues. Designed to increase familiarity with the variety of topics and methods covered by policy making and analysis as well as career options. Student participation and oral critique of a selected speaker and their topic. Must be repeated for credit for a total of 3 credits.
PPOL 8701. Advanced Macroeconomic Theory. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6201. Prerequisites: Admission to graduate program and permission of program director. Theories of aggregate income determination, inflation, unemployment, interest rates and economic growth; macro-economic consumption and investment behavior; the business cycle.
PPOL 8703. Advanced Microeconomic Theory. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6202. Prerequisites: Admission to graduate program and permission of program director. Theories of the firm, of the consumer, and of resource owners; determination of prices under different market structures; general equilibrium analysis and welfare economics.
PPOL 8705. Advanced Urban and Regional Economics. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6250. Prerequisite: Admission to graduate program. Applications of microeconomic theory to problems of cities, metropolitan areas and regions; methods in regional analysis, location theory, land use planning, measurement of economic activity; transportation, housing, poverty, and growth issues.
PPOL 8707. Game Theory and Experiments. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6206. Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate program director. Focuses on game theoretic analysis and the experimental methodology which can be used to test game theoretic models. The primary topics in game theory include: static games with complete information, dynamic games with complete information, static games with incomplete information, and dynamic games with incomplete information. Some topics are introduced by way of an economic experiment, and the experiment is followed by a rigorous analysis of the game theoretic solution to the game. The latter part of the course focuses on how to design economic experiments as a means of testing the predictions of game theoretic models.
PPOL 8709. Public Economics. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6256. Prerequisite: MATH 1241 or equivalent, and permission of the program director. Public economics is the study of the way governments choose spending, taxation, and regulatory policy; the ways such policies may affect economic welfare; and mechanisms to evaluate the economic effects of such policies.
PPOL 8711. Monetary and Financial Theory. (3) Cross-listed as ECON 6235. Prerequisites: ECON 6201 or ECON 6202; and ECON 6112 or equivalent. Theory and empirical tests of money supply, money demand, and financial markets; portfolio theory with special attention to portfolio choices of banks; term structure of interest rates; dynamic models of money and economic activity.
PPOL 8800. Independent Study. (1-3) Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and the program director. Supervised study of a public policy topic or problem of special interest to the student and within the instructor’s expertise. May be repeated for credit.
PPOL 8801. Dissertation. (1-9) Prerequisites: Passage of qualifying examinations, and approval of dissertation topic by the student’s advisory committee. In-depth study of a practical problem in public policy. Analysis of the problem, preparation of a policy solution, and presentation of the solution to appropriate stakeholders and the public. Graded on a Pass/Unsatisfactory basis. Maximum of 18 hours allowed under this course designation.